The History of Merck Friedrich Jacob Merck opened Merck KGaA, the parent company of Merck, in Germany in 1668. He purchased an apothecary and sold morphine, cocaine and codeine. The company became a manufacturer in 1827, when Heinrich Emmanuel Merck transformed the business and named it E. Merck. A U.S. sales office opened in 1887. George Merck, Heinrich’s grandson, was appointed head of the U.S. branch, called Merck & Co., which opened in 1891. Merck & Co. sold the first commercially used smallpox
Introduction Since its humble beginning as a small drugstore, Merck has placed a large amount of importance on improving the health and well-being of its customers. As drug patents expire and genetic forms of their top products become available, Merck’s strategy is to do the unexpected; instead of raising the price of their older products in favor of patent protected new drugs, Merck focuses on reducing their cost in order to better compete with their generic counterparts. Additionally, Merck’s
Ecstasy MDMA, or Ecstasy, was first made in a lab in Germany in 1912. The German pharmaceutical company E. Merck patented it in 1914, not as a medicine, but as a chemical for making more useful drugs later on. MDMA was forgotten until 1953, when the United States Army funded a secret University of Michigan study to develop chemical weapons. After learning that MDMA was non-toxic, the government put it back on the shelf. Rumor says that the drug was tested for mind control purposes, or as a “truth
The Deceivers of Drugs Merck and FDA Introduction A blockbuster drug, Rofecoxib, with sales of 2.5 billion dollars of annual sales was pulled off the market (Topol, 2004). The drug was pulled off after epidemiological studies had noted 1.4 million people have had a serious side effect (Medscape Medical News, 2004; Topol, 2004). Rofecoxib side effects were all associated with myocardial infarction, cardiovascular risks, and even death (Smith, 2007;
being sick at least once in our lives. It is interesting, then, to note that there seems actually to be a pathology associated with this kind of behavior known as Munchausen syndrome. What, technically, is Munchausen syndrome? According to the Merck Manual, it is "Repeated fabrication of physical illness - usually acute, dramatic, and convincing - by a person who wanders from hospital to hospital for treatment." (1) People suffering from this disorder will even go so far as to inflict physical
about the same time because some "strange side effects were noted". (lec.org/DrugSearch/Documents/Ecstasy.html p.1) It isn't clear what those effects were. MDMA, also known as Ecstasy, was synthesized in 1914, and was patented by the German company Merck. MDMA gained popularity in 1972 as a legal alternative to MDA. MDMA was used in marriage counseling as a way of reducing hostility during the counseling session. The father of MDMA is Alexander Shulgin. Shulgin received his PhD in biochemistry from
of Financial Evaluation and Analysis at Merck & Company was discussing the opportunity of investing in licensing, manufacturing and marketing of Davanrik, a drug originally developed to treat depression by LAB Pharmaceuticals. LAB proposed to sell the right of all the future profit made from the successful launch of Davanrik at the cost of an initial fee, royalty payments and additional payments as the drug completed each stage of the approval process. Merck & Company's organizational goal is to constantly
become available after patent expiration. Merck has an opportunity with LAB Pharmaceuticals to license Davanrik which is currently in pre-clinical development and was originally developed to treat depression but it also has the potential to treat obesity by blocking the receptor that causes hunger. The proposal, if approved, would require Merck to design, administer, and fund Davanrik’s clinical testing, and manufacture and market the drug. Discussion. Merck is a global research-driven pharmaceutical
Being healthy is a topic that is on everyone mind in today’s society. Everywhere you look, whether on televisions, advertisements or by word of mouth, people are trying to live, eat and just do better. Health may and can include taking medication for a short or long-term period of time. For some medicine may be needed daily for the rest of their lives. Health is the general condition of a person in all aspects. It is also a level of functional and or metabolic efficiency of a human. Every human being
Merck Case Study Relevant Facts: Merck was one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Merck was about to lose patent protection of two of its best selling drugs, which had been a significant part of their $2 billion annual sales. Merck began putting millions of dollars into research (up to $1 billion) and within three years, Merck was able to discover four powerful medications. Profits weren’t all that Merck cared about; Merck’s founder believed that "medicine is for people. It
Vioxx/Merck Summary The painkiller Vioxx was introduced in 1999 by Merck & Co. It has been used by over 20 million Americans since it was put on the market. Vioxx remained on the market for approximately five years without adequate warnings about its risks. In September of 2004, Merck took Vioxx off the market after a study revealed that it doubled the risk of heart attack or stroke for patients that used it for more than 18 months. Although Merck claimed that they had no idea of these possibly lethal
Background: Merck & Co. is an American pharmaceutical company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. In 1971 the United States approved the use of an MMR vaccine made by Merck, containing the Jeryl Lynn strain of mumps vaccine. In 1978 Merck introduced the MMR II, using a different strain of the rubella vaccine. In 1997 the FDA required Merck to conduct effectiveness testing of MMRII. Initially it was over 95%; to continue the license; Merck had to convince the FDA that the
employees low scores. A possible solution could be holding more supervisors accountable for their reports. This could be accomplished by making accurate appraisals a criterion for determining the performance of managers. To further enforce accuracy, Merck could investigate or review supervisors who appear to have a consistent issue with leniency, strictness or central tendency. A solution to address issues with the current rating scale would be to utilize Management by Objectives (MBO) and a ranking
External Environment Analysis Economy Merck & Co. has to be aware of the economy as with any industry. Within the recession, more and more were looking towards generic substitutes. This can at times not be a problem with patents. However, once a patent is up, a competitor who develops generic versions of Merck’s products becomes a low-cost competitor. However, during the recession from 2008 – 2009, Merck didn’t see any drop in sales. Actually, they were able to keep a continual increase in sales
Central Problem In the Merck, the FDA, and the Vioxx Recall case study, the question as to whether or not Merck conducted itself in a socially responsible and ethical manner with regard to Vioxx is the central problem we will examine in this case. Many argue that the sole problem lies within the pharmaceutical company Merck and Co., Inc., and while that may in fact be the case, other parties such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can be held responsible as well. Merck a “research driven” pharmaceutical
RECOMMENDATION: Merck & Co., Inc. is one of the largest pharmaceuticals companies in the world. After analyzing recent performances and looking at the current events of the company, it would be in the best interest of a stockholder of “MRK” to either hold their stock or buy more stock dependent upon their current financial situation. Due to recent company developments such as multiple acquisitions and positive financial performances, investors are justified to continue to hold their stocks and potentially
Merck had developed an antibiotic, Ivermectin that was used to treat parasites in animals. Dr. William C. Campbell, a Merck senior researcher, found evidence that the same drug might be effective against the parasitic worm that causes river blindness. After much consideration, Merck decided to research Ivermectin’s effectiveness in preventing river blindness. That research, including human clinical trials, showed that the drug indeed was effective with no side effects. After searching for an organization
Introduction: Merck had a reputation of providing the best research in order to find the cure for diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis, hypertension. They spend on average around $3 billion dollars on research on a yearly basis. However, they needed to produce a drug that would take Merck to the next level. Merck created Vioxx which was designed to treat osteoarthritis and in May 1999, the FDA approved Vioxx making it available with a medical prescription (Snigdha., 2007). During this period
Merck, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and that was established in 1891, is currently facing disputes of ethical dilemmas and federal charges of fraud from the whistleblowers. In the pharmaceutical industry, Merck has had a government-granted monopoly by which it was given exclusive license to be the sole manufacturer and seller of a mumps vaccine in the U.S. Thus, its’ potential competitors are excluded from the market by law. The first FDA approved vaccine was developed
physical dependence… [it] interferes with the ability to socialize and to work and leads to many other destructive behaviors" (The Merck Manual of Medical Information 442). An alcoholic is someone who is dependent on alcohol and has the disorder of alcoholism. Alcoholics tend to act differently when drunk and at times may not be able to "manage their behavior" (The Merck Manual of Medical Information 442). Consequences that occur during this time are what lead to the breakup of relationships, and